A box of yellow cake mix, 1 cup of chocolate chips, half a cup of oil and two eggs. That is the whole list. No butter to soften, no flour to measure, no mixer to drag out.
The cake mix already holds the flour, sugar, leavening and salt, so you skip most of what a from-scratch cookie asks of you. You stir four things together in one bowl, scoop, and bake.
What you get is not a crisp bakery cookie. It is soft and a little chewy, with a thin crackled top. That texture is the reason to make them, and it comes from the oil and the cake mix, not from anything you do at the oven.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Heat the oven and line a pan
Set the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you only have one sheet, let it cool fully between batches, because warm parchment makes the next batch spread more.
2. Stir everything together
Put the cake mix, chocolate chips, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Stir with a sturdy spoon or spatula until you see no dry cake mix left. The dough will be thick and tacky, closer to a stiff batter than a rollable cookie dough. That is normal.
3. Scoop the dough
Use an ice cream scoop or your hands to make balls about the size of a golf ball. Space them about 2 inches apart on the lined sheet. You should get around 12 cookies.
4. Bake until the edges set
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The edges should look set and barely golden, and the centers will still look soft and slightly glossy. Take them out at that point. Overbaking is the main way these go wrong, and they turn dry and crumbly fast.
5. Cool on the pan
Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes so they finish setting. Then move them to a rack to cool. Eat them warm, while the chips are still soft.
Variations
- Chocolate cake mix instead of yellow turns these into double chocolate cookies. Cut the chips to 3/4 cup so they don't overwhelm the dough.
- Swap half the chocolate chips for chopped nuts or dried cranberries. Keep the total add-ins at about 1 cup.
- Sprinkle flaky salt on the dough balls before baking if you like a sweet-salty cookie. A small pinch per cookie is plenty.
- Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or a pinch of cinnamon to the dough for a little more flavor. Neither changes the method.
Pro Tips
How to Store Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies
Refrigerator
Keep baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Raw dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days, but let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping.
Freezer
Freeze scooped dough balls on a tray until firm, then bag them for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen at 350°F and add 2 to 3 minutes to the time. Baked cookies also freeze well for up to 2 months.
Reheating
A baked cookie warms up in 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave. For a fresher texture, put them in a 300°F oven for 3 to 4 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use a different flavor of cake mix?
Yes. White, vanilla, butter yellow and chocolate mixes all work with the same amounts of oil, eggs and chips. Spice cake mix with chocolate chips is a good combination too. The texture stays about the same.
Q: Why are my cake mix cookies flat?
Usually too much oil, dough that sat out warm, or a baking sheet that was still hot from the last batch. Check that you used 1/2 cup of oil, chill the dough briefly, and let the pan cool between batches.
Q: Do I need to add flour or baking powder?
No. The cake mix already contains flour, sugar and leavening. Adding more flour makes the cookies dry and cakey instead of soft.
Q: How do I know when they are done?
Look at the edges. When they are set and just starting to color, and the centers still look soft, pull the tray. They keep cooking on the hot pan for a few minutes.
Q: Can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes. Cover and refrigerate it for up to 2 days. Let it warm up for about 10 minutes before scooping, since cold dough is hard to shape.
Q: Can I skip the chocolate chips?
You can, but the cookies will be plain and a bit sweet. If you leave them out, add 1 cup of nuts, dried fruit or a second kind of chip so the dough still has something in it.
Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies – 4-Ingredient, 12 Minutes
Four ingredients and one bowl turn a box of yellow cake mix into soft chocolate chip cookies. Scoop, bake at 350°F, and they are ready in 12 minutes.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1Heat the oven and line a pan — Set the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you only have one sheet, let it cool fully between batches, because warm parchment makes the next batch spread more.
- 2Stir everything together — Put the cake mix, chocolate chips, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Stir with a sturdy spoon or spatula until you see no dry cake mix left. The dough will be thick and tacky, closer to a stiff batter than a rollable cookie dough. That is normal.
- 3Scoop the dough — Use an ice cream scoop or your hands to make balls about the size of a golf ball. Space them about 2 inches apart on the lined sheet. You should get around 12 cookies.
- 4Bake until the edges set — Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The edges should look set and barely golden, and the centers will still look soft and slightly glossy. Take them out at that point. Overbaking is the main way these go wrong, and they turn dry and crumbly fast.
- 5Cool on the pan — Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes so they finish setting. Then move them to a rack to cool. Eat them warm, while the chips are still soft.
Questions or cooking notes?
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